80 



without thought of the morrow. It seems highly improbable, however, 

 on the experience of other countries, that even with the aid of irrigation 

 growers will be able to continue indefinitely to draw from the soil, year in 

 and year out, profitable crops of sugar-beet. At the present moment a good 

 crop of irrigated sugar-beet is said to be represented in the Vega by 24 tons 

 to 25 tons to the acre ; the average yield of the district I was unable 

 to ascertain. The roots are paid for by the factories on a quality test, much 

 in the same way as our butter factories pay for milk. The juice of the roots 

 is tested, and payment is made in proportion to its specific gravity, which 

 will always correspond to its sugar contents. Payment is said to be made 

 at the rate of 9d. for one-tenth of a degree of density (I was unable to ascertain 

 what type of densimeter was in use). On an average this type of payment 

 works out at 1 Os. 4d. to 1 5s. 8d. a ton of roots. 



In Australia, wherever irrigation is made available, we usually fall back 

 on lucerne and other forms of fodder that can be raised at little expense and 

 fed to live stock. The idea of reducing labor to a minimum usually dominates 

 our policy in this direction. It may well be questioned, however, whether 

 in some special cases we might not find it to our interest to fall back on so 

 profitable an undertaking as the sugar-beet industry over some of our irrigable 

 districts. I am, of course, aware that the erection and equipment of sugar 

 factories is a costly affair, not to be entered upon without some degree of 

 certainty as to the success of the venture. Nevertheless, as Victoria did not 

 hesitate to attempt sugar-beet raising without irrigation, why should not we 

 test the matter with irrigation ? 



On the outskirts of the Vega I noticed that both olive trees and vines were 

 occasionally irrigated. 



THE SPANISH MULE. 



Here, as indeed throughout Spain, the mule is the chief beast of burden 

 and draught. The Spanish mule is on the whole a handsome beast, more 

 attractive than the heavy French Poitou mules, although hardly as serviceable 

 for heavy draught purposes. He is of alert, active appearance, with well-bred 

 head, clean lean limbs, and well-shaped feet ; rather light in the bone perhaps, 

 but without that abnormal abdominal development characteristic of the 

 heavier types of draught mules. The coat is usually smooth and glossy. On 

 the whole, judged by our standards, the Spanish mule is more of a pack 

 animal, and better adapted to lorry or dray than to heavy wagon work. 

 These characteristics he may be said to owe to his sire and dam respectively. 

 The former the Spanish jack alert, high-bred, clean-cut, is in striking 

 contrast to his shaggy, ungainly cousin, the Poitevin jack ; whilst the latter 

 a Barb mare for the most part is considerably lighter than the French ideal 

 " jument mulassiere." 



Teams abreast are no more in honor in Spain than anywhere else in the 

 south of Europe. On the country roads and in the streets of towns are 



